USA Qualifies for 4x100 Relay After Baton Bobble Leads to Rerun

USA qualifies easily after relay rerun

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From left, the United States 4x100-meter relay team Morolake Akinosun, Allyson Felix, Tianna Bartoletta and English Gardner walk to the finish after dropping the baton during the athletics competitions of the 2016 Summer Olympics at the Olympic stadium in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Thursday, Aug. 18, 2016.

Allyson Felix and the US 4x100 relay team made the best of a second chance, qualifying easily Thursday night in a solo re-run of the heat in which Felix got jostled and lost control of the baton.

Race officials upheld an American protest and the US made it around the track safely and quickly — their time of 41.77 seconds wound up best among the qualifiers.

These were hardly ideal conditions. The lead-off runner, Bartoletta, returned to the track a little more than 12 hours after taking gold in the long jump.

Felix has been battling a sore ankle for months, along with the emotions of not qualifying for the 200, then finishing a disappointing second in the 400.

Replays of the race show Brazil's third runner, Kauiza Venancio, start to pump her arms as she gets ready to receive the baton from Franciela Krasucki. Venacio's left arm made contact with Felix's right one and threw her off balance as she was attempting to pass to Gardner.

Felix let out a yelp as her flip missed its mark and the baton tumbled to the ground. She picked up the baton and told Gardner to finish the race a heads-up move that may not have really changed anything, per the rulebook, but removed any doubt about the U.S team's intention to finish the race. Anchor runner Morolake Akinosun finished but the Americans didn't post an official time listed as a "DQ," until officials let them back in.

"I remember them telling us, if there's an appeal, you have to make an effort," Felix said.

In less-jarring news, the U.S. men's team coasted through the preliminaries easily, winning their heat in 37.65 seconds. Jamaica's relay team also made it through, finishing second in their heat without Usain Bolt, who was resting up for the 200-meter final later in the evening.

It puts Jamaica, and Bolt, in position for a third straight title in the sprint relay.